Prescott National Forest officials want your input on a future land use planning effort. A draft plan that has been developed over a 3 year period includes management of such areas as Cordes Junction, the communities of Cherry, Crown King, Drake, Prescott and Chino Valley; as well as the Upper Verde River. Desired conditions and guidelines for these and other areas are outlined in the plan. The 90 day comment period started on Saturday. Public meetings are scheduled to take place in October to present information on the plan and a draft environmental impact statement. Dates and locations haven’t been announced yet, but the meetings are expected to be held in Prescott, Chino Valley and Camp Verde. To view and download the plan, go online to fs.usda.gov.

You won’t be able to park on certain streets in Prescott’s downtown area this week due to crack repair work. This work is taking place on East Gurley at the intersections of Cortez and Montezuma Streets. Street parking is restricted from 6 pm to 6 am through Wednesday. Delays are expected due to lane restrictions, reduced speeds and rough road conditions. Crack repair is complete on Prescott Lakes Parkway and East Gurley and North Cortez Streets. Final paving is scheduled to occur once the initial crack repair is done on all sections of streets involved in this pavement rehabilitation project.

Expect late night closures and restrictions as ADOT crews will be performing bridge work on I-17 at Cordes Junction. Alternating lane restrictions will be in place on northbound I-17 from 7 tonight to 6 tomorrow morning as crews work on the Arcosanti Bridge. ADOT spokeswoman Tricia Lewis explains southbound traffic will be shifted tomorrow night into Wednesday morning. From 11 Thursday night to 3 Friday morning, full closures of I-17 are expected for up to 15 minutes. The on ramp from Highway 69 to northbound I-17 will be closed from 7 that night to 6 Friday morning and traffic will be detoured 3 miles south to Bloody Basin Road. Drivers will then be directed to use northbound I-17.

It may be the farthest thing from your mind right now, but the Prescott Chamber of Commerce is already thinking about Christmas. The Chamber is accepting applications for the 29th Christmas Parade, which starts at 1 on Saturday, December 1st. Chamber Director David Maurer explains how you can get your entry in for the parade. Maurer adds this year’s theme is “Christmas Joy and Peace” Applications are available online at prescott.org or you can pick one up at the Visitor Information Center on West Goodwin Street. The submission deadline is November 7th.

A Prescott man is among the Red Cross volunteers who are in Florida to help with a potential hurricane. Sixty-four year old Vic Hencken left Thursday as a Job Deputy Director while 2 other volunteers from Maricopa and Chandler left Saturday as Disaster Assessment Workers. The National Hurricane Center is predicting Tropical Storm Isaac will grow into a hurricane that will possibly hit late tomorrow somewhere along a stretch that starts west of New Orleans and runs to the edge of the Florida Panhandle. The storm hit the Florida Keys area early this morning. Hencken has been a volunteer with the Red Cross with his wife, Flo for the past 11 years. He has worked the September 11th, 2001 attacks, Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Hurricane Ike 4 years ago.

Local organizations could find out tomorrow if they will get a piece of the bed tax pie. The Prescott City Council was scheduled to vote on the allocation of more than 631 thousand dollars in bed tax 2 weeks ago. Tourism Director Ron Prince explains where this money for tourism related events comes from. Prince explains this 3 percent tax is charged to visitors to Prescott. Charlie Arnold says he wanted to see a vote on this item delayed. Prince says the allocations are reviewed and considered by Council every year. Some of the events that would benefit from the bed tax funds include the Whiskey Off Road, the Frontier Days Rodeo, the Courthouse Lighting and the Prescott Jazz Summit. Council will consider the allocation during its voting session at 3 tomorrow afternoon. That meeting will be held in Council chambers on South Cortez Street.